Ireland votes on Lisbon treaty

Ireland votes today in a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty with EU leaders hoping for a go-ahead for reform of the Union.

Polling stations in 43 constituencies opened at 7am local time and will stay open until 10pm. There will be no exit polls after voting ends and counting will not begin until Saturday at 9am local time.

Estimations of the results or ‘tallies’ taken by private observers appointed by political parties watching the count will be known within a few hours and often represent an accurate reflection of the official result.

Official results will be declared on a constituency-by-constituency basis from mid-morning with an overall result expect in the late afternoon or early evening.

Opinion polls in the weeks running up to the referendum have been suggesting that the treaty will pass. But widespread dissatisfaction with the Irish government over its handling of the economy could yet prompt the electorate to vent their anger and deliver a ‘No’ vote.

Yesterday, traffic in Dublin city centre came to a standstill as taxi drivers staged a protest over worsening working conditions since the government deregulated the industry. On Wednesday, an estimated 15,000 marched against public service cuts proposed by the government, while trade unions have called for a national day of protest in November.

The campaign has been dominated by the ‘Yes’ side since all the main political parties, with the exception of Sinn Féin, are backing the treaty. A number of civil society groups, most notably Ireland for Europe, led by former European Parliament president Pat Cox, have emerged to boost the ‘Yes’ campaign.

But the ‘No’ side had some headline-grabbing messages. Cóir, a group representing extreme Catholic conservative and nationalist views, has argued that a ‘Yes’ vote could lead to the reduction of the minimum wage in Ireland to €1.84.

Declan Ganley’s late appearance on the ‘No’ side as leader of Libertas has also given more prominence to arguments against voting for the treaty, namely that it will lead to an even greater democratic deficit with the appointment of the president of the European Council and the threat that would come to Ireland’s low corporate tax regime.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and several of his fellow commissioners, plus Jerzy Buzek, the president of the European Parliament, have visited Ireland in recent weeks to urge a ‘Yes’ vote.

Yesterday a spokeswoman for Barroso said: “The president simply hopes that as many as possible will use their democratic right and make their voice heard.”

The treaty will allow for the appointment of a president of the European Council who will chair meetings of EU leaders and represent the EU abroad. It will change the voting rules in the Council of Ministers to bring it more in line with member states’ population sizes. It will boost the role of the high representative for common foreign and security policy who will chair the Council meetings of foreign ministers (instead of the foreign minister of the rotating presidency) and will be vice-president of the Commission.

A European External Action Service will be created from the diplomatic services of the member states, the Commission and the Council secretariat. The treaty will also give the Parliament co-decision powers in more areas.

But even if Ireland votes ‘Yes’ to the treaty, it will not immediately take effect. The Czech Republic and Poland have yet to ratify the treaty. A new legal challenge was taken to the Czech constitutional court this week which is expected to delay that country’s ratification at least until the end of the year. Polish President Lech Kaczyński has said that he will sign the treaty if it is approved by the Irish electorate.